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Key information

The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. The male is distinguished from the female by his bright red crown. It tends to nest and feed higher up and is quieter in its tapping. Usually located by its call, and its drumming. When feeding it creeps along branches and flutters from branch to branch, flying with an undulating flight in the open.

What they eat:

Insects.

Measurements:

Length:

14-15cm

Wingspan:

25-27cm

Weight:

17-25g

Population:

UK breeding:

1,000-2,000 pairs

Identifying features:

Lesser spotted woodpecker

Feather colour:
BlackCream/buffRedWhite

Beak:
BlackMedium lengthChunky

Natural habitats:
WoodlandUrban and suburbanWetland

Similar birds:

Where and when to see them

You can find the lesser spotted woodpecker in open woods, copses, parkland, gardens and orchards, but it tends to frequent the tops of trees, searching for larvae, spiders and wood-boring insects on smaller branches.

In the UK, it is mainly limited to the south with the highest density of population occurring in the south-east of England. Lesser spotted woodpeckers do not breed in Scotland or on islands, such as the Isle of Wight, (although they are found on the Channel Islands) and they are absent from Ireland. In northern England, the lesser spotted is extremely local in Yorkshire, rare in Lancashire and in Wales scattered pairs occur apart from in the far west.

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Resident

Passage

Summer

Winter

The best time to look for lesser spotted woodpeckers is in spring when it is active and there are not too many leaves on the trees, and when they are likely to call and drum.